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TOPIC: Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs

Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83077

  • TOPACES
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I've been thinking...
Some original prequel-style Lightsabers don't feature an actual emitter but rather just a flat surface.

Guess it would be easy enough to grab a piece of 1" round aluminum bar, shorten it to the right length, lathe it plain and this way have an invisible blade socket / flat prequel style emitter surface.

Has anyone here tried that before or would have some reference pics how that would turn out?
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83078

  • wamphyri13
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TOPACES wrote:
I've been thinking...
Some original prequel-style Lightsabers don't feature an actual emitter but rather just a flat surface.

Guess it would be easy enough to grab a piece of 1" round aluminum bar, shorten it to the right length, lathe it plain and this way have an invisible blade socket / flat prequel style emitter surface.

Has anyone here tried that before or would have some reference pics how that would turn out?

Yes. They're called Ultra Sabers. :lol: :P
"Hold on to 16 as long as you can, changes come around real soon make us women and men." - John Mellencamp
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83079

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I'm sorry, I misread what you put. I thought you were asking about a saber, as opposed to seeing the title of the thread, a blade plug.
I see no reason why you couldn't other than the cost. Acrylic or polycarbonate tube is cheap.
Lots of people make their own blade plugs. Look on ebay and you might get some ideas. I bought some 1" diameter decorative gears at a craft store to try and make my own flush plugs. Just haven't gotten around to doing it. Too many other projects. If you've got the tools, go for it.
Ryan
"Hold on to 16 as long as you can, changes come around real soon make us women and men." - John Mellencamp
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83082

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Ha ha... Wamp you are so bad lol. :lol: I was holding off on my immediate thoughts but might as well have a bit of harmless fun. After reading the initial post I was thinking where is the light part to this saber ? ;) I would imagine that it would take a whole lot of imagination to convince oneself or anyone else that this is a lightsaber and with all that solid aluminum it won't be light in that way also.

Mind you if the creator of the pet rock could make millions then anything is possible. A broom stick with a stuffed horse's head toy was one of the fastest steeds ever. :huh:

Okay... I realize that you are referring to a blade plug that does not allow light to shine through... at least I think so... but why ?! :unsure:

An easy way would be to take the basic US blade plug that has the large solid metal disc pushed into a heavy grade polycarb tube. Get some matching flat enamel paint or nail polish and coat over the remainder or the whole top and about 1/4 - 1/2 " down the outer top diameter of the plug to block out any illumination.
Last Edit: 3 months 1 week ago by Dauntless 7.
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83085

  • KelbornX
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One of the independent smiths just did a small run of accurate Obi-Wan Apprentice (OWK/Avenger) blade plugs in a similar manner: milled aluminum top attached to a piece of delrin. It's easier to machine just the top in metal than the whole piece.

@D7: The "why?" would be for accuracy to the hilt. Both the Qui Gon and Obi-Wan prequel hilts had flat emitters, as did Palpatine's. The OT hilts are similar as well, though some have bits of the cut-of dueling rods sticking out. If memory serves, none of the canon saber designs have gaping holes for an emitter like our replicas do.
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83088

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Will have to do some homework on this as not understanding how an emitter technically/design wise can be flat. I do recall seeing a YT video of those slimmer dueling rods... thought that they looked kind of dangerous if in unskilled hands. :unsure:
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83090

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Hello D7, KelbornX,

Just looked up the emitter thing for you on YT and OWK's hilt did have a flat face on the emitter when extinguished, but Maul's sabers had a hole in the emitter face as seen below:

Obi-Wan:


Maul:


Couldn't catch a good shot of Qui-Gonn's hilt you only really see the pommel end in this scene but you can see both belt hanger hilts in these screengrabs:





Hope this helps,

For Tyeth
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83091

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A still of Obi-Wan's by Maul's feet during the "Duel of the Fates"





A pic of Palpatine's saber on one of the official displays I think. Also easily seen in this scene.





Luke ROTJ variants, two with the remnants of the dueling rod



You can also find extensive information on the OT sabers here.
Last Edit: 3 months 1 week ago by KelbornX.
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83094

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Face palm ! :oops: I first thought you meant the emitter was like squished down flatter... not that there was a solid round blade plug in it. Secondly :blink: was thinking that you were perhaps carving a mock saber out of the aluminum tubing. :huh:

In my defense... hmm... can't think of a single thing to support any of that illogical thinking lol. :cheer: :whistle:
Last Edit: 3 months 1 week ago by Dauntless 7.
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83096

  • Kouri
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Dauntless 7 wrote:
In my defense... hmm... can't think of a single thing to support any of that illogical thinking lol.

Here ya go.

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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83102

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Ha ha. :lol: Today is double points day at Starbucks... am so on it. ;)

It's not my fault that I am influenced by such creative talented persons... those that cause a mind shift towards endless lightsaber/3D printing possibilities. :silly:

Back to the topic... was this solid blade plug made for the visual esthetics ? It does look nicer and perhaps more finished than the empty hole without a plug. Should be easy to construct one so may post a photo when it's done. It could be tricky removing the flush one if the plug gets stuck in the emitter. I like the look of Palpatine's the best but am not a fan of these solid plugs. They do seem to go well with a more flared emitter.
Last Edit: 3 months 1 week ago by Dauntless 7.
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83124

  • Vechaljian
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Not exactly flush, but its is aluminum.. I got this from a Master Cylinder out of a Infiniti g35 which has a 1inch bore, I have not done anything yet to shorten it or modify it, its a good starting stock, someday I plan too. I want the holes to show out of the saber, just waiting on the right saber.




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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83137

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Thanks for the comments, and sorry if my description was a little vague.

Yes, the reference pics from Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's hilts are exactly what I'm thinking of.

I was mostly curious if someone has seen this approach at a blade plug, as I would imagine it could leave a nasty "gap" between the otherwise identical blade plug and emitter surfaces.

With aluminum vs. PC tubing, I have to say I find 1" aluminum rods to be easier to find here than the PC tubing.
I'll probably try to get a small piece of round 1" aluminum lathed and see if I can combine this with my US blade plug for the looks, but without the unnecessary added weight.
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 1 week ago #83138

  • Shai Kah
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what about adding the MPS Insert style 4 for TCSS? Add this to a piece of a blade? or even a small piece of tubing?
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Experiences with full aluminum Blade Plugs 3 months 6 days ago #83161

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Shai Kah wrote:
what about adding the MPS Insert style 4 for TCSS?

Not sure if it's exactly 1" in diameter. Could be worth a try, but shipping to germany is 15$ at least. So I'd rather go to a hardware store and try my luck seeing what similar things I could find there :lol:
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